Key holder



May 14, 1957 c. s. MARIEN KEY HOLDER Filed Nov. 50, 1955 M s a m w 8 MA/7 2 V. B M v United s nan KEY HOLDER Clement S;.Mafien,Attleboro,Mass., assignor. to Swank, ;In,c., acorporation-ofiDelawar-a ApplicationNovember 30,1955,SerialNo;550,053

5; Claims. @(Cl. '70-e-459) This invention relates .to. a key :holder.

2 Keyholdersv maybe .ofvvarying types. The type with which", thisinvention isconcerned :has a+loop which is 1 rigid so far asitsfunctioning in :the invention is concerned -:with theendsgof thenloopspaced so ,as to provide for yaccessnofpthe. key in..psiti0ning ironthe: loop. The

handle of the-key is provided with ahole through; which the loop may bepassed to mount the key on the loop. In orderthat- -the key'will notbe.accidentally'disengaged from the loop, some closure is then; providedfor the space between the ends of the loop, and it is this closure mem-1 ber to which this invention is directed. Various forms of closureshave been heretofore provided.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a closure which willbe of simple construction and thus inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a closure which may be somanipulated that it may be easily slid to and from closing position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a suspending ring and usethis suspending ring as a means for holding the closure in assembledposition and also using this ring as a means for pivotally mounting oneof the parts of the member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a member which will be ofthin construction so that it will lie fiat in the pocket and conformitself readily in the pocket of the user to the space available for it.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is an elevation showing the key holder in closed position witha key mounted on the loop;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on substantially line 2-2 of Figure 1 withthe loop broken away;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the tongue of theclosure member as moved to release position so that the closure membermay he slid along the loop;

Figure 4 is a sectional view on substantially line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the body of the closure member inpartly folded up position.

In proceeding with this invention, I utilize a loop of ring shape withspaced ends and mount a closure member on this loop by folding up fromsheet stock the body of the closure so that the loop may slide throughthe body and then provide a tongue within the body to extend between theends of the loop to block the body from sliding along the loop, the bodybeing of sufiicient width so that the loop is closed when the tongue isbetween the ends of the loop. For opening the loop, the tongue iswithdrawn from the space between the ends by some sort of manualmanipulation and then the body may be slid along the loop so that thekeys may be threaded into or removed from the loop.

Y 2,791,899 Patented May 14, 1957 .2 .Withreference ,tothedrawings, 10desig ates the: loop whichwill be; of rigidconstruction with the ends;11 .and

;12'spacedas shown in; Figures 1 and 4. A-,key'13 hav--ingahandleportion 14 is; providedwith a-hole- 15:a nd the wirepart of,the;loop:10 may be threaded through this hole ,to mount thekey on theloop. The space .16 between the ends-11and12 is spanned'bya hollow-tbody closure 17.

This closure is formed-frornsheetstock cut outing a suitable shape andthen bent to provide the body. ;The

body will have a front wall;18 and a back-wall 19.with flanges 20and1'21 extending from the frontwwall l8; and flanges 22and-;23@extending from the backwall 19. The walls-18 andl9 arefolded;;upfrom a flatsheet ofstock along an arcuate bite portion 24,and- :the-fiangesarezso shaped at oneof .theirends aswto provide agenerally circular opening 25- of; a; size .to receiveiand; slide alongthe loop lfl. The flanges 20,. 22 and 11, 23.'will abut in edge to edgerelation throughout their length to provideal .body WhiChvlS hollow;as,at 26 within. "Inord-er toihold the bodyrwith the flanges abuttingasshown .in Eigures Z and ;3,-a wh rl-extends upwardly fromthe frontwall-1S hav- :ing' an -ear 28 folded at right angles thereto. andpierced-w i th. an opening 29, while a tab-39 extends upwardly fromthe-backwall;19--having an ear 3l folded at rightlangles thereto,=whichis pierced with an opening'32 therethrough. When the flanges 20,122 and21, 23 {are l-=edge to gdge abutting relation, the holes-.29and32-willbesubstantially in axial-alignment, and a ringfiS will tbepassed zthrough these openingsso as to; hold the;,front--. and.back,iwalls =1 I d- 19 i n ra ly: par l e a enar-i lv t iflane abutting.

A tongue 34 is provided with an opening 35 through which the ring 33passes so as to pivotally mount the tongue within the hollow 26 of thebody. This tongue is of a width so that its lower end 36 may extend inthe space 16 between the ends of the loop 10. A coiled spring 37 extendsabout the ring 33 with one end 38 engaging the back wall 19 of theclosure, while the other end 39 extends through a slot 40 in the tongue34 and presses against the back side of the tongue to force it towardthe front wall 18 and into the space 16 between the ends of the loop.

The front wall 18 is provided with an opening 41 through which thefinger piece 42 which comprises a projecting portion from the tongueextends so that pressure may be applied to the tongue by the finger ofthe operator to swing the tongue against the spring in moving it out ofthe space 16. In order, however, that the tongue may have sufficientfreedom of movement to move from the space 16, I also provide an opening43 in the back wall of the closure member that the lower enlargedportion 36 of the tongue may extend into this opening and havesufficient clearance to move from a position between the ends of theloop.

It will be apparent that when the closure member is in the positionshown in Figure l with the tongue in between the ends 11 and 12 of theloop, it will remain in this position and block the removal or entranceof keys from the loop. However, in order to provide access to the endsof the loop, I may press upon the finger piece 42 of the tongue, movingit to the position shown in Figure 3, thereby permitting the closuremember to he slid along the loop through the opening 25 to a positionremoved from the space 16, thereby permitting entrance of the keys on tothe loop.

I claim:

1. A key holder comprising a rigid loop having a space between its endsand of a size to be passed through the hole in the handle of a key, aclosure for said space com prising a hollow body slidably mounted onsaid loop and of a width greater than said space, a ring through saidbody, a tongue pivotally mounted on said ring and of a width less thansaid space to extend therein, and a finger piece projecting through saidbody to be engaged for moving the tongue from the said space between theends whereby sliding of the closure along said loop is permitted to openthe space for positioning keys on the loop.

2. A key holder comprising a rigid loop having a space between its endsand of a size to be passed through the hole in the handle of a key, aclosure for said space comprising a hollow body slidably mounted on saidloop and of a width greater than said space, a ring through said body, atongue pivotally mounted on said ring and of a width less than saidspace to extend therein, a spring acting between said body and tongue tourge the tongue in one direction into said space, and a finger pieceprojecting through said body to be engaged for moving the tongue fromthe said space between the ends whereby sliding of the closure alongsaid loop is permitted to open the space for positioning keys on theloop.

3. A key holder comprising a rigid loop having a space between its endsand of a size to be passed through the hole in the handle of a key, aclosure for said space comprising a hollow body slidably mounted onsaidloop and of a width greater than said space, said body havingopposite walls each with an opening therein, a tongue pivotally mountedin said body and of a width less than said space to extend therein, anda finger piece projecting through one of said openings in said body tobe engaged for moving the tongue from the said space between the endsinto the opening in the other wall whereby sliding of the closure alongsaid loop is permitted to open the space for positioning keys on theloop.

4. A key holder comprising a rigid loop having a space between its endsand of a size to be passed through the hole in the handle of a key, aclosure for said space comprising a hollow body slidably mounted on saidloop and of a width greater than said space, said body having oppositewalls each with an opening therein, a ring through said body, a tonguepivotally mounted on said ring and of a width less than said space toextend therein, and a finger piece projecting through one of saidopenings in said body to be engaged for moving the tongue from the saidspace between the ends into the opening in the other wall wherebysliding of the closure along said loop is permitted to open the spacefor positioning keys on the loop.

5. A key holder comprising a rigid loop having a space between its endsand of a size to be passed through the hole in the handle of a key, aclosure for said space comprising a hollow body slidably mounted on saidloop and of a width greater than said space, said body having oppositewalls each with an opening therein, a ring through said body, a tonguepivotally mounted on said ring and of a width less than said space toextend therein, a spring acting between said body and tongue to urge thetongue in one direction into said space, and a finger piece projectingthrough one of said openings in said body to be engaged for moving thetongue from the said space between the ends into the opening in theother wall whereby sliding of the closure along said loop is permittedto open the space for positioning keys on the loop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS368,135 Crandall Aug. 9, 1887 2,224,073 Augenstein Dec. 3, 1940 FOREIGNPATENTS 53,161 Germany Aug. 16, 1890 318,207 Germany Jan. 15, 1920

